Andrew Mitchell denies calling 'police officer a pleb'

Imagine the scene for chief Tory whip Andrew Mitchell, after a hard day in politics, you are riding your bike happily out of the main Downing Street exit, and a policeman asks you to use a side entrance.

So far so good, but then Mitchell with a flounce pulls the old, don't you know who I am line, swore at the officer, told them to learn their place and then rounded it off with calling them a pleb, according to The Sun newspaper.

As the incident has come to light, Mitchell has been forced to apologise for his comments and to the officer involved. He said he "did not use the words attributed to me" and now wants to "draw a line" under the matter. But the Sun has seen the Police report of the incident, and it clearly shows he did say the inflammatory comments.

However, whilst Mr Mitchell may want that to draw a line under the matter, the police and labour politicians are calling for a full Downing Street inquiry into the incident. The Chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, John Tully, told the BBC that 'Mr Mitchell's apology was not sufficient and an inquiry was needed to resolve the issue,' saying: "He is calling the officer's integrity into question, and that isn't acceptable from my point of view."

In a final flourish to the story, when Mr Mitchell was asked the reasons behind his actions, he said that Wednesday had been a "long and extremely frustrating day." Still, it makes a change from the usual 'tired and emotional' excuse. The case is still continuing.